A Ford dealership in Bolivar, Tennessee was struck by a sudden, violent hailstorm which did a shocking amount of damage. Since the storm happened just on April 8 the dealership doesn’t know the totality of the destruction, but it’s estimated when all is said and done it might be upwards of $1 million.
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In an interview with Fox Weather, a manager at the dealership said the skies were clear before a storm rolled in suddenly. Then out of nowhere golf ball-sized hail stones started raining down as employees ran for cover.
Surveillance footage of the storm doesn’t show much, but someone on Facebook shared a reel of video taken by her sister using a cellphone. That camera shows just how large the hail was. Plus you can hear the stones hitting the ground and vehicles.
Hail that large is guaranteed to do some damage. In this case it broke taillights, dimpled body panels, and even wrecked part of the dealership’s roof. Since there’s so much damage, with hundreds of vehicles on the lot, and with that comes many insurance claims, the dealer is still trying to get a grip on the magnitude of the situation.
This also means the trucks and SUVs damaged in the freak storm aren’t able to be sold, yet. When they’re finally offered to the public again, we expect it will be at a steep discount. Either that or the damage will be deemed not serious enough to repair. We’ll see which in the near future.
Other parts of western Tennessee also suffered damage from hail which fell suddenly after the solar eclipse. The suddenness and violent nature of the storm caught many off guard.
Images via Jessica Peterson/Facebook